The present invention relates to icebank refrigerating and cooling systems for supermarkets. Specifically, this invention relates to a multi-function icebank refrigerating and cooling system which can be utilized to perform all cooling functions required in the operation of a supermarket. The invention enables a single system to provide refrigeration for the produce cases, coolers, and processing rooms as well as to provide air conditioning for the supermarket. By using an icebank, the system can be economically operated at off-peak hours to build up a supply of ice which is consumed in the peak hours to provide the desired refrigerating and cooling operations.
Icebank cooling systems are known in the prior art. Typically, in the operation of an icebank system, a supply of ice is gradually built up and stored in a storage tank from which cold water is circulated to a cooling device, e.g., an air conditioning unit or refrigerating unit, when it is desired to perform cooling operations. The icebank system allows the supply of ice to be economically made at off-peak hours, usually late evening and early morning hours, when the demand for electrical power is lowest and the price is reduced to encourage more evenly distributed power consumption. Typically, the off-peak rate may be only one-half of the peak rate for electricity. Thus, by using electricity to produce the ice supply in off-peak hours for later consumption at peak hours, it is possible to achieve considerable savings in the cost of operation of a cooling system.
Previous proposals for utilizing icebank systems have included church installations and other similar facilities where the actual time of usage is relatively small in comparison with the large amount of time available to build up the supply of ice. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,653,221. It has also been proposed to utilize icebank systems to provide bulk milk cooling apparatus. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,271,968; 3,448,589; and 3,456,452. However, such cooling apparatus has not experienced widespread use because the small-scale nature of the operation does not usually warrant the financial investment in such apparatus. None of these references contemplated the type of large-scale, multi-function cooling operations required in supermarkets and other similar facilities.
The present invention recognizes the significant advantages achieved by utilizing an icebank system for large-scale refrigerating and cooling operations. It has been appreciated that a supermarket, with its numerous refrigerating and cooling requirements, presents an environment uniquely suited to take advantage of the benefits of an icebank system. The typical supermarket includes produce cases maintained at low temperatures to preserve fresh fruits and vegetables, frozen food counters maintained at temperatures at or below freezing to preserve frozen items such as meat, fish, fruits, vegetables and juices, coolers which store beverages, milk and dairy products at low temperatures, meat counters and processing rooms where meat and other items are prepared and packaged for sale. All these areas represent substantial cooling loads with significant power requirements. Moreover, the air conditioning of the supermarket represents an additional cooling load. Previously, each produce area has been provided with its own individual cooling unit separate from the main air conditioning system in the supermarket. The present invention advantageously provides a single icebank system which is capable of meeting all refrigerating and cooling requirements in a supermarket.